Celestino domtngxjez



c. DOMINGUEZ.

Ore Stamp. No. 28,974. PaitentedJuly 3, 1860.

Witnesses= UNI TE CELESTINO DOMINGUEZ, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

QUARTZ-CRUSHING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 28,974, dated July 3, 1860.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CELESTINO DoMINcUnz, of the city and county of SanFrancisco and State of California, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Quartz Crushing and Amalgamating Machines; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the construction and operation of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, inwhich- Figure'l, represents a perspective View of the entire machine.Fig. 2, represents a section through one of the pulverizing vessels.Fig. 3, represents a section through the amal gamating apparatus, andFig. 4 represents a view from the underside of the amalgamating plate,to show the grooves therein.

Similar letters of reference where they occur in the several drawings,denote like parts of the machine in all the figures.

My object is to make a cheap and simple machine for crushing,pulverizing, and amalgamating the precious metals found in quartz, andso that it may be easily constructed or transported in, or through, themountainous country in which it is to be used, and so that it may becheaply driven, and economical in its use of water.

My invention consists in the manner in which I have constructed,combined, and arranged the several operating parts of the machine foreffecting the objects specified.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation, in connection withthe drawings.

A represents a base for supporting the several parts of the machine.

B, is a wheel, in which animals may be used, as a motor for operatingthe machine. But where water can be conveniently got, it may be used asa power, or steam either. This wheel B being set in motion, revolves ashaft C, through the pinion D, and upon this shaft are placed a seriesor double series of tappets or lifters a, a, a, &c.

E is a trough or box, which may have an iron bottom, and into thistrough the quartz to be crushed is placed. Y

On a cross timber F, are pivoted a series of levers G, the ends of whichin one direction extend to a line immediately over the trough E, and tothese ends are loosely hung the pestles or pounders H, which work inwater is introduced into the troughs E, and

when the finer particles floating in the water rise, or the crushing isfine enough, they pass off with the water through a trough I, and into apulverizing vessel J, where a second operation is carried on as follows:In the bottom of the vessel J, there is a bed of stone, which may becomposed of pieces, and underneath this bed there is a cloth or otherflexible thing K. A shaft L, has a step b, in the base, in which itturns, through the bevel gearings M, N, (which may be trundle headsinstead of metal), and near the bottom of the vessel, there are arms 0,0, passed through this shaft to which weights of metal or stone areconnected so as to drag around on the stone bed P. This mechanismpulverizes the crushed material, and any gold that may drop or settlebetween the crevices or joints of the stones P, is caught and saved inthe cloth K. As the material is pulverized and rises and floats in theagitated water, it flows off through a trough or conduit Q, and isdelivered into the buckets 0, of a wheel R, which is revolved thereby,the buckets again discharging themselves into a spout S, which conveysthe water and the pulverized material into the eye d, of an amalgamatingwheel T, that is revolved through the bevel gearings e, f. But I wouldhere state that I do not confine myself to the revolving of the wheel T,through the agency of the water wheel R, for it may be driven throughthe intervention of the shaft 0, or from the main wheel B.

Ont-he bottom of the amalgamating wheel T, there is a metal plate 6, theunderside of which has radial grooves g in it to allow the water andpulverized material to pass from the eye to the skirts of the wheel T.This plate 71, revolves in contact, or nearly so, with a bed plate mi,and the whole are arranged within an outer case or surrounding n. Thequicksilver is introduced with the pulverized material through the eyed, and its being rubbed between the metal surfaces i, m, causes it totake up the minutest particles of gold, and form an amalgam with them.The amalgam remains in the casing n, and the water and crude materialflows ofi from the top of n and escapes. The amalgam is taken off at 1'(Fig. By this arrangement and operation, I save the minutest particlesof gold, and much that heretofore has been lost entirely.

There may be quicksilver introduced into the vessel J, so as to savemany of the fine particles of gold in that vessel, and sometimes do so.

The perspective shows but one vessel (J I propose to use another for thecrushers on the left of the drawing, and to convey the water andmaterial pulverized therein through the spout Q, onto the wheel R. Ofcourse the machine can be duplicated Without changing the character ofthe invention.

Having thus fully described the construcherein set forth.

C. DOMINGUEZ. Witnesses:

A. B. S'roUGn'roN, C. COHEN.

